Tonganoxie Junior, Midget teams clinch summer tournament titles
Tonganoxie’s California Blues won the Junior Baseball League Tournament by defeating Bonner Springs, 13-4.
Coached by Helen Newton, the Blues went 10-1-1; Bonner Springs was 11-1.
The Blues defeated the Tonganoxie Gold team, 8-7, in the semifinals and Edwardsville I, 17-2, in the quarterfinals. The Gold team was coached by Troy Erwin. The Gold team got past the Tonganoxie Lime team in the quarterfinals, 10-9, before being knocked out in the semifinals. Scott Gallagher coached the Lime team. The Tonganoxie Orange team, coached by Steve Woolf, advanced past Bonner Springs II, 14-7, in the quarterfinals, but Bonner Springs I overpowered the Orange team in the semifinals, 11-1.
In the Midget Baseball League Tournament, the Tonganoxie Lime team, coached by Mark Williams, won the six-team tourney with a 5-2 win against the Tonganoxie Reds. Coached by Chris Campbell, the Reds defeated the Gold team, 4-3, and the California Blues before reaching the title game. Gary Wagner coached the Gold team and Scott Soetaert coached the California Blues.
The No. 2 seed, the Lime team defeated Linwood, 8-4, in the semifinals. Linwood defeated the Tonganoxie Orange, 7-4, in the first round. The Orange, coached by Richard Erickson, were the No. 3 seed.
In softball action, Miles Excavating won the Kaw Valley Midget Girls Tournament with an 11-10 victory against the Tonganoxie Gold. The team, which was coached by Jerry Stockman, was the No. 3 seed.
Paul Gripka’s California Blues defeated American Family Insurance, 5-4 in the quarterfinals but couldn’t get past the Jayhawks in the semifinals.
Chuck Clark’s Lime team was the No. 9 seed and advanced with a 6-5 win in one of two play-in games, but the Basehor Sting zapped the Lime with a 12-2 setback.
The final champion came in the Kaw Valley K-Ball Softball Tournament. Bonner Springs II dropped the Tonganoxie Orange, 13-9, for the tourney title.